Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Takotna, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ), Takotna, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between RAF Fairford and Tatalina LRRS Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between RAF Fairford and Tatalina LRRS Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ):

• Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airstrip was constructed as part of the construction of the Tatalina Air Force Station.
• The furthest airport from Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,440 miles (16,801 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Tatalina LRRS Airport is a military airstrip located seven nautical miles south of Takotna, in the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ) is Takotna Airport (TCT), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) NNW of TLJ.
• Because of Tatalina LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 964 feet, planes can take off or land at Tatalina LRRS Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.